We know, from the work that Steve’s been doing with both Shipleys and Menzies, that you all know what Twitter is. But, we also know that there’s a lot of you who are not using Twitter yet. (See the results of the Shipley’s Breakfast Club survey – 100% of attendees had heard of it, yet less than 30% were actually using it).

Therefore the language used in Twitter may still be quite new to you.

So, what is a Tweetup? Well, in simple terms, it’s a Networking Event (meet-up) that’s been organised on Twitter.

We noticed that there was a Tweetup being organised in Surrey, so started to listen to the details on Twitter. It seemed that it was going to be at a pub in the centre of Farnham and, being free that night, both Sarah and Steve went along to see what it was all about.

At first, it seemed that we were going against the advice that parents up and down the country give to their children every day – “Don’t ever arrange to meet up with someone who you’ve only met on the Internet”. Yet, we’ve managed to pick up a few clients who we’ve only met on Twitter – so, surely, meeting up with them would be OK, wouldn’t it? And, after all, there promised to be quite a few people there – we were not going to be alone!

In the talks that Steve has been giving, he’s been keen to stress that companies should learn about Twitter and understand who is using it – and, if those people could be potential clients, then engage with them. We’ve found that a ‘potential client’ for projectfive could be anyone who uses a computer – so that includes the local Window Cleaner and Vicar, through to well-known Accountancy and Law firms.

We have certainly found that Twitter is full of potential clients for us – so why not go along and meet them in person? It’s when we meet people, and get to know them, that they begin to like us and we build a trust that invariably results in us doing business together.

So, there we were heading to Farnham on a wet February evening, after a long day at work, wondering what we’d find – and, we weren’t disappointed.

It was, in many respects, just like a normal business networking event. People were keen to introduce themselves and engage in pleasant conversation. Ideas were shared, information exchanged, and a few giggles too.

Anyone who engages in Networking will know that each group has its own dynamics and unique character. If you’ve been to one of our First Friday Badminton networking events, you’ll know that they’re different to the local BNI, 4Networking, Surrey Chambers, IoD or any other event. They are all different, unique, and all result in an opportunity to build rapport with people.

The Tweetup was no different in that respect. What we can say, though, is that the Tweetup was more informal than most events, and the people who were there were generally younger than some events. There were a lot of people who work in the Graphic Design, Web Design, and Marketing arenas – but they weren’t the only industries represented.

We talked about how people were surviving the Recession. We shared stories with fellow businesses who were experiencing similar ‘growing pains’ to us. And we talked about the concerns of Data Retention / Data Protection and Inter-Operability between different ‘Cloud-Computing’ solutions.

The event was expertly organised by Abigail and the folks at theBlueDoor – they were the perfect hosts! And, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.